Toyota Issues Global Recall

Toyota is recalling 7.4 million vehicles globally due to a potential fire hazard involving power-window switches, a glitch on a world-wide scale that evokes the company's much-publicized quality woes of two years ago. WSJ's Chester Dawson reports from Tokyo.

By

Chester Dawson

Updated Oct. 10, 2012 11:33 a.m. ET

TOKYO— Toyota Motor Corp.TM0.90% said Wednesday it is recalling 7.4 million vehicles globally, including 2.5 million cars and light trucks sold in the U.S., due to a potential fire hazard involving power-window switches, a glitch on a world-wide scale that evokes the company's much-publicized quality woes of two years ago.

The recall affects cars made between July 2005 and May 2010. The affected models, including Camry and Corolla sedans and RAV4 sport-utility vehicles, were sold in Japan, North America, Europe, China, the Middle East and Oceania, the company said.

Japan's biggest auto maker called it the company's largest recall to date for a single part, although it is second to the 7.7 million vehicles Toyota recalled around the world in 2009 and 2010 targeting floor mats. The company maintains that wasn't technically a recall in some markets, but rather a "safety campaign."

ENLARGE

Toyota provided no cost estimates for its recall. Above, a U.K. dealership.
Reuters

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The latest recall comes as Toyota's sales in the U.S. have begun to recover from the black eye the company received after being slow to recall more than five million vehicles in the U.S. to fix loose floor mats, and 2.2 million cars and light trucks for accelerator-pedal upgrades. Altogether, the company was forced to recall about 11 million vehicles world-wide for those issues.

It adds to the auto maker's difficulties as it and other Japanese car companies struggle with a de facto boycott of their vehicles in China, the world's largest auto market, as a result of strained political relations between Beijing and Tokyo.

Toyota, which said it knows of no accidents or deaths stemming from the faulty parts, blamed sticky power-window control-switch circuitry on the driver's seat-door panel, which can melt if lubricants are misapplied.

"As far as we know, there have been no reports of accidents as a result of this. We're taking it as a protective measure," a spokesman for the company said.

Toyota Models Affected

The recall covers 2.5 million cars and light trucks sold in the U.S., including these models:

Yaris, 2007-2008

RAV4, 2007-2009

Tundra, 2007-2009

Camry, 2007-2009

Camry Hybrid, 2007-2009

Scion xD, 2008-2009

Scion xA, 2008-2009

Sequoia, 2008-2009

Highlander, 2008

Highlander Hybrid, 2008

Corolla, 2009

Matrix, 2009

Source: The company

In an indication of the perils of relying on single suppliers for certain parts, which can reduce production costs thanks to larger volumes, Toyota said the flawed switch came from one global parts maker, which it declined to identify.

The auto maker didn't provide cost estimates for the recall. Last year, it pegged the total cost incurred in 2010 from recalls related to accelerator pedals, floor mats and Prius model brakes at ¥170 billion to ¥180 billion ($2.17 billion to $2.3 billion).

Toyota said it first became aware of the latest issue in September 2008, but was unable to determine the cause until now. The recall doesn't affect any vehicles made after 2010 because of production-process changes unrelated to the internal probe, it said.

After the U.S., China is the biggest market for the recall, with 1.4 million vehicles, followed by Europe at 1.39 million, the company said.

Vehicles affected by the recall include the Corolla-twin Matrix, the Vitz and Yaris subcompacts, the Scion xA and xD models, the Highlander and Sequoia SUVs and the Tundra pickup truck.

A Look at Recent Toyota Recalls in the U.S.

April 2011 – Toyota recalls 308,000 2007 and 2008 RAV4 and 2008 Highlander sport-utility vehicles because of a problem that could cause unwanted airbag deployments. The car maker also announces the recall of 51,000 2011 Tundra full-size pickup trucks to check for a possible defect in their drive-shaft assemblies. Toyota says the vehicles' rear-drive shafts may include a part called a slip yoke that could break because of improper casting during the manufacturing process.

November 2011 – Recalls of about 283,200 Toyota and 137,000 Lexus vehicles to replace the crankshaft pulleys on their V6 engines. The recall includes the 2004 Avalon; 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna, and Solara; 2006 Highlander HV; 2004 and 2005 Lexus ES330 and RX330; and 2006 RX400h.

December 2011 – Recalls 210,000 Sienna minivans from the 2011 and 2012 model years because of labels printed with incorrect loading and weight-capacity information. The labels, or placards, are attached to the rear pillar of the driver's side door. The car maker says its dealers will mail corrected placards and revised owner's manual information.

June 2012 – Adds the Lexus RX 350 and RX 450h vehicles from the 2010 model year to the list of vehicles recalled for unintended acceleration related to floor mats—long after the 2009 recall aimed at fixing the defect—at the request of the NHTSA. The recall affects about 154,000 vehicles built from Nov. 28, 2008, through Sept. 1, 2010.

August 2012—Recalls about 760,000 RAV4s compact sport-utility vehicles from 2006 to early 2011 model years and 18,000 Lexus HS 250h hybrid sedans from the 2010 model year. The car maker said the vehicles' rear suspensions could fail under some conditions.

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